Entrepreneurship Course Syllabus

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School for New Learning

DePaul University
Course Syllabus: Entrepreneurship - From Start-up to Success
Course Number: FA 221
Spring, 2013-14

1. General Information
Faculty: Michael Shapiro
Dynamic Management Solutions, Inc.
30 N. Michigan Ave., Ste. 824
Chicago, IL 60602
michael@dmscoach.com
Tel.312 558-4700

Location: Loop

Dates/Time: Tuesday, 5:45 9:00 pm

Credit Hours: 4

2. Course Description and Faculty Biographical Sketch

General Description
Are you an entrepreneur? Thats the question many individuals are asking in this age of
corporate downsizing, follow-your-dream philosophy, post dot-com age of the
entrepreneurial start-up. This course is designed for those who plan to start, or who have
already started their own business. Individuals who hold leadership or management
positions within a business, who are part of an existing family-business, or who want to
know what it takes to be successful as an entrepreneur will find real-world applications
and solutions to the every-day challenges of owning and running a business here.

In this course, students learn the essential attributes of an entrepreneur and the stages one
goes through in taking the seed of an idea and growing it into a successful business. But it
also takes more than a good business plan and money to succeed - entrepreneurs must
understand that all too often, the strengths that helped them be successful as a start-up
become liabilities to overcome in order to take it to the next level. This course provides
practical insights into the differences between effective leadership and management by
exploring the concepts of Emotional Intelligence in the workplace and determining how
to identify and develop human capital the lifeblood of every business.

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Biography
Michael Shapiro is a Management Consultant and Business Coach with over 25 years of
business experience. He is President of Dynamic Management Solutions, Inc.

His practice focuses on helping entrepreneurs and their companies build, manage, and
grow their businesses. He provides leadership development advice, consults on
organizational structure, and offers rookie-manager training. Michael also founded and
facilitates The Entrepreneurs Group a facilitated, peer-support group for individuals in
a business, professional services practice, or organizational leadership role.

Michaels academic credentials include both a Bachelors degree in Small Business
Management and a Masters degree in Technological Consulting and Management from
DePaul Universitys School for New Learning. His recent continuing education has
included participation and leadership training in organizational dynamics and group
relations programs sponsored by Northwestern University, the Institute for Management
Transformation, the A.K. Rice Institute, and Chicago Center for the Study of Groups and
Organizations

3. Competencies
L-7: Can learn collaboratively and examine the skills, knowledge, and values that
contribute to such learning. Students will learn the characteristics of an effective team,
both as leaders and followers through team projects and in-class presentations
H-2-C: Can identify an organizational problem and design a plan for change based on an
understanding of social science theories or models. Students will learn how to identify
organizational and cultural problems within a business system and develop a strategy for
change through case studies and individual projects.
H-3-D: Can employ the skills of negotiation, mediation, or interpersonal communication
in the resolution of a problem. Students will learn the characteristics of leadership and
management styles, using effective communication and feedback techniques by
developing their approach to case studies and real-world examples.
F-X: Can apply the principles of entrepreneurship in workplace environments. Students
will negotiate individual projects.

4. Learning Experience
This course has been designed for students to learn about the characteristics of an
entrepreneur and the various elements essential to developing and leading a successful
entrepreneurial enterprise. Students will learn the attributes a successful entrepreneur
must have beginning with how to develop a business plan. The many aspects of
leadership, management, and teamwork will be covered through readings, case studies,
classroom discussion, and the final project. The impact Emotional Intelligence has in the
workplace will be addressed through assigned readings, case studies, classroom
discussions, and individual assessments. Students will also learn how to assess and
develop human capital in the workplace from interviewing and hiring methods to
development and performance evaluations systems through readings, case studies,
classroom discussion, and in-class team exercises.
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Required reading for the course:

The One Page Business Plan for the Creative Entrepreneur by Jim Horan, 5
th
Edition
with CD-ROM, ISBN # 978-1 -891315-09-1

Articles listed below will be posted for download on D2L.

Note Readings are to be completed before the designated week in order to facilitate
an informed classroom dialogue.

For Week 1 - Entrepreneurial Attributes And Characteristics
1. Natural-Born Entrepreneur by Dan Bricklin
Harvard Business Review 9/2001
2. The Reluctant Entrepreneur by Ken Veit
3. The Top Ten Lies of Entrepreneurs by Guy Kawasaki
4. Never Bet the Farm by Anthony L. Iaquinto and Stephen Spinelli Jr.
Soundview Book Summary 9/2006

For Week 2 The Business Plan
1. How to Write a Great Business Plan by William A. Sahlman
2. The Art of the Executive Summary by Bill Reichert
www.garage.com/resources/writingexecsum.shtml
3. Write a Business Plan Essential Elements of a Good Business Plan
www.sba.gov/smallbusinessplanner/plan/writeabusinessplan/SERV_ESSENTIAL.html
4. My Own Business: A Course on How to Start Your Own Business Sec. 1, 2, & 8
www.myownbusiness.org/course_list.html

For Week 3 - Leadership & Management in an Entrepreneurial Business
1. What Great Managers Do by Marcus Buckingham
2. The Real Leadership Lessons of Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson
3. Harvard Business Review 4/2012
4. Make Your Values Mean Something by Patrick Lencioni
Harvard Business Review, 7/2002
5. What's Your Culture Worth by Bo Burlingham
Forbes.com 9/30/2002
6. One Page BP assignment The Vision
Case study option - How Low Will You Go Due the following week

For Week 4 - Leadership & Management in an Entrepreneurial Business (cont.)
1. The Hidden Traps in Decision Making by John S. Hammond, Ralph L. Keeney, and Howard Raiffa
2. The Trouble with Teamwork by Patrick Lencioni
Patrick M. Lencioni Leader to Leader Institute
3. Giving It Away - The Art of Delegation by Paul Lemberg
www.talkbiz.com/digest/emt17.html
4. Delegating Strategically by Dr. Scott Williams
www.wright.edu/~scott.williams/LeaderLetter/delegating.htm
5. One Page BP assignment The Mission
Case study option - The Micromanager Due the following week
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For Week 5 - Communication
1. Barriers and Gateways to Communication by Carl R. Rogers and F.J. Roethlisberger
2. Lost in Translation by Alison Stein Wellner
Inc.com, Inc. Magazine, September 2005
3. A Crash Course in Communication by Sarah Fenson
Inc.com, Inc. Magazine, August 2000
4. Listening to People by Ralph G. Nichols and Leonard A. Stevens
5. The Power of Talk: Who Gets Heard and Why by Deborah Tannen
6. One Page BP assignment The Objectives
Case study option - The CEO Who Couldnt Keep His Foot out of His Mouth Due the following week

For Week 6 - Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace
1. Leadership That Gets Results by Daniel Goleman
2. One Page BP assignment The Strategies
Case study option - The Very Model of a Modern Senior Manager Due the following week

For Week 7 - Human Relations Developing Human Capital Pre-hire
1. Zero Defect Hiring by Dr. Pierre Mornell
www.inc.com/magazine/19980301/889_Printer_Friendly.html
2. No Room for Compromise by Dr. Pierre Mornell
www.inc.com/magazine/19980801/986_Printer_Friendly.html
3. Making the Case for Behavioral Interviewing by Catherine F. Neiner
http://www.wetfeet.com/employer/articles/behavioral_interviewing.asp
4. One Page BP assignment The Plans
Case study option - We Googled You Due the following week

For Week 8 - Human Relations Developing Human Capital Post-hire
1. 31 Core Competencies Explained by Edward J. Cripe and Richard S. Mansfield
www.decisioninsightinc.com/news/PerformanceCompetencies.pdf
2. Fundamental Attribution Error
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fundamental_attribution_error
3. Crucial Confrontations-Summary by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, and Al Switzler
Soundview Book Summary 11/2004
4. Taking the Stress Out of Stressful Conversations by Holly Weeks
5. How to Fire With Compassion and Class by Susan M. Heathfield
http://humanresources.about.com/od/discipline/a/firecompassion.htm
Case study option - The Reign of Zero Tolerance Due the following week

For Week 9 Entrepreneurial Challenges
1. Succession Planning - Passing On The Mantle
Small Business Administration (No longer posted on the SBA.gov site)
2. Splitting Heirs by Stephanie Clifford
http://www.inc.com/magazine/20070801/splitting-heirs_Printer_Friendly.html
3. The Founders Dilemma by Noam Wasserman
Case study option - The Outstanding Outsider and the Fumbling Family Due the following week

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- Learning Strategies will include: discussion, lecture, role-playing, collaborative learning,
individual and team research projects. Extensive use of Blackboard requires that students
have an active account and access to the site.

- The reading list above represents all of the required readings. No other textbook is
required.

- Evidence of learning will include a written analysis and recommendation from three case
studies provided, in-class team presentations, and a final project presentation.

- The final course grade will be based on:

30% Three case-study written recommendations of 1 2 pages in length chosen from
seven cases provided. (10% each)

50% Final Project

10% Class attendance

10% Class participation

Case-Study Assignment
Each week, (7 of the 10 weeks) there will be a case-study reflecting an aspect of the
material presented and discussed. Following each case, there will be a specific question
or path of action to be taken and an analysis and recommendations from four different
experts.

The assignment is to write your own expert opinion. If you agree with one of the expert
opinions given, state why and explain how and why you have reached the same or similar
opinion. Alternatively, you may choose to add a fresh or different perspective but you
must explain why. It would be appropriate to draw on material from the assigned
readings, as well as your own experience.

Youre required to choose three of the seven cases available to write on. Each case
will count as 10% of your final grade.

Cases are due the week following their listing in the course reading-schedule.

Final Project
Each student or team of students will create a comprehensive business plan for an
Entrepreneurial Enterprise. All aspects of a business plan should be addressed. The final
project presentation will take place the 10
th
week of the term.

Guidelines and requirements for the project are as follows:
a. You may do this project individually or as a two or three-person team. If you
work as a team, each member will have to provide an individual written essay on
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the dynamics and challenges of teamwork, leadership, authority and structure. If
you work alone, you will have to provide a written essay on why you decided to
work singly and what were the benefits and consequences of that decision.

b. Individuals working alone may reconsider their decision and ask another
individual or an existing, two-person team to join or merge their efforts. (No team
may have more than 3 members). This must be done no later than Week 4.

c. The final project will be presented by all team members each with an individual
aspect of the presentation. The presentation will include two components The
written Business Plan given to the instructor and a 10-slide PowerPoint
presentation to be used in the presentation. The presentation must not be longer
than 10 minutes or use a font smaller than 30 pt on the slides.

d. If you have worked as a team, each member, independently, will write a personal
essay on the dynamics and challenges of teamwork, leadership, authority and
structure - also discuss the personal learning or awareness that took place over the
course of the project and whether you would make the same decision again. The
essay should be between 2 3 pages. It will be due at the time of the presentation.

e. If you chose to work alone, you will write a personal essay on why you decided to
work alone and what were the benefits and consequences of that decision - also
discuss the personal learning or awareness that took place over the course of the
project and whether you would make the same decision again. The essay should
be between 2 3 pages. It will be due at the time of the presentation.

f. The Final Project will account for 50% of your grade. The components of the
Final Project grade are:
10% - 5 One Page Business Plan assignments
15% - Quality and comprehensiveness of the Business Plan document.
15% - Quality and effectiveness of the teams presentation.
10% - The individual essay

g. The milestone dates and timeline for the Project are as follows:
A verbal declaration of teams and business idea is due at the end of Week
Twos class

Each week between week 3 and week 7 one of the 5 One Page Business
Plan assignments is due

Week Ten is presentation day. You and/or your team have up to ten minutes
to present your plan to the class. Your PowerPoint presentation must follow
the 10/10/30 rule: 10 slides, 10 minutes, no font smaller than 30pt.

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Course Attendance
Students missing more than one class of our ten week course will not have met the
requirements for a passing grade. Students must attend and participate in the class
presentation in order to receive a passing grade. A grade of Incomplete cannot be given
if the Final Project has not been completed and presented.

5. Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this class, students will:
1. Understand the characteristics of a successful entrepreneur
2. Identify the distinctions between leadership and management
3. Experience the process of developing a functional team
4. Understand the components of an entrepreneurial business plan
5. Apply the concepts of Emotional Intelligence in workplace roles
6. Understand the stages of the hiring and interview process
7. Recognize impediments to effective communication
8. Develop a vocabulary of business competencies essential to providing feedback
9. Understand the challenges of family businesses

6. Evidence the Students will Submit
- Evidence of learning will include three written case-studies, 5 One Page Business Plan
assignments, a comprehensive business plan, an in-class, team presentation, and a written
essay reflecting the experience of teamwork.
- Students will abide by the Universitys guidelines on academic integrity (see policy in
addenda below)
- All work must be original. Please refer to the DePaul Student Handbook for the definition
of plagiarism. Non-original work will receive a grade of F.

7. Criteria for Assessment
- Student Work Product Will be Evaluated As Follows:
A= designates work of high quality; reflects thorough and comprehensive
understanding of the issues at hand; reflects a clearly identifiable thesis and argument
that demonstrates cogent and creative development and support of idea.
B= designates work of good quality; reflects clearly organized and comprehensive
understanding of issues at hand; presents substantive thesis and argument with evident
development and support of ideas.
C= designates work which minimally meets requirements set forward in assignment;
reflects some organization and development of ideas but develops argument in
superficial or simplistic manner; may only address part of the assignment or be
otherwise incomplete.
D= designates work of poor quality which does not meet minimum requirements set
forth in the assignment; demonstrates poor organization of ideas and/or inattention to
development of ideas, grammar, and spelling; treatment of material is superficial and/or
simplistic; may indicate that student has not done reading assignments thoroughly.

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- Unfinished work or work requiring revision will be given an Incomplete (IN) grade. In
order to qualify for the IN, students must have attended no fewer than nine classes, and
must complete the final project, in-class presentation during week ten.
Work not submitted by the due date must be submitted within 2 weeks, and will be
assessed on a P/F basis only.

8. Class Schedule
Week 1 - Entrepreneurial Attributes and Characteristics

Week 2 The Business Plan

Week 3 - Leadership & Management in an Entrepreneurial Business
1. Leadership & Management Whats the difference?
2. Creating the company Culture - What is it? - How to develop and maintain it
3. Understanding effective communication

Week 4 - Leadership & Management in an Entrepreneurial Business (cont.)
1. Decision-making - What gets in the way
2. The importance of teams
3. Goals and accountability
4. Effective delegation - How, why, and when

Week 5 - Communication
1. Effective communication in the workplace
2. Essential listening skills
3. Gender bias in workplace communication

Week 6 - Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace
1. History and background
2. EI framework
3. EI and Leadership
4. Self Assessment
5. Applications in the Workplace

Week 7 - Human Relations Developing Human Capital Pre-hire
1. Recruiting employees for success
2. The interview process from resume vetting to the job offer
3. Effective interviewing skills

Week 8 - Human Relations Developing Human capital Post-hire
1. Core competencies a vocabulary
2. Creating performance/evaluation systems
3. Providing feedback - How, why, and when
4. How to have a difficult conversation
5. Employee termination issues

Week 9 Entrepreneurial Challenges
1. Succession or contingency planning
2. Separating family & business systems
3. Founders dilemma
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Week 10 - Project presentations

- All written assignments are due at the beginning of class.
- The DePaul University Incomplete Policy, as listed below and on the school website will
be followed.

Addenda

DePaul University Academic Integrity Policy
DePaul University is a learning community that fosters the pursuit of knowledge and the
transmission of ideas within a context that emphasizes a sense of responsibility for oneself, for
others and for society at large. Violations of academic integrity, in any of their forms, are,
therefore, detrimental to the values of DePaul, to the students own development as responsible
members of society, and to the pursuit of knowledge and the transmission of ideas. Violations
include but are not limited to the following categories: cheating; plagiarism; fabrication;
falsification or sabotage of research data; destruction or misuse of the universitys academic
resources; alteration or falsification of academic records; and academic misconduct. Conduct that
is punishable under the Academic Integrity Policy could result in additional disciplinary actions
by other university officials and possible civil or criminal prosecution. Please refer to your
Student Handbook or visit http://studentaffairs.depaul.edu/homehandbook.html for further
details.

DePaul University Incomplete Policy
Undergraduate and graduate students have two quarters to complete an incomplete. At the end of
the second quarter (excluding summer) following the term in which the incomplete grade was
assigned, remaining incompletes will automatically convert to "F" grades. In the case of the Law
School incompletes must be completed by the end of the semester following the one in which the
incomplete was assigned. Ordinarily no incomplete grade may be completed after the grace
period has expired. Instructors may not change incomplete grades after the end of the grace
period without the permission of a college-based Exceptions Committee. This policy applies to
undergraduate, graduate and professional programs. NOTE: In the case of a student who has
applied for graduation and who has been approved for an Incomplete in his or her final term, the
incomplete must be resolved within the four week grace period before final degree certification.
n.b. The SNL student who wishes to receive the grade of IN must formally request in writing
that the instructor issue this grade. This request must be made before the end of the quarter in
which the student is enrolled in a course.

Students who feel they may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability should
contact the instructor privately to discuss their specific needs. All discussions will remain
confidential.

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To ensure that you receive the most appropriate accommodation based on your needs, contact the
instructor as early as possible in the quarter, preferably within the first week of class, and make
sure you have contacted:
- PLuS Program (for LD, AD/HD) at 773-325-4239 in the Schmidt Academic Center,
room 220 or;
- The Office for Students with Disabilities (for all other disabilities) at 773-325-7290,
DePaul University Student Center, room 307.

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